When Leicester City shocked the world to win the Premier League title in 2016 one of the secrets of their success was their incredible recruitment over the previous few seasons.

Stars of the show were Jamie Vardy, recruited for just £1 million in 2012, Riyad Mahrez, signed for just £400,000 in the Championship title-winning season two years before, and N’Golo Kante, who was picked up for slightly more at £5.6 million at the start of the campaign.

A glance around the starting eleven revealed how that side had been put together on a relative shoestring, using figures supplied by Transfermarkt.

Kasper Schmeichel (£1.5 million), Danny Simpson (£2.25 million), Wes Morgan (£1.17 million), Robert Huth (£3.7 million), Christian Fuchs (Free), Danny Drinkwater (£810,000), Marc Albrighton (free), Shinji Okazaki (£9.9 million) and a notable contribution from then record signing Leo Ulloa (£9 million). A total of £35.33 and a minuscule amount compared to their title rivals and most of the rest of the Premier League.

Since that incredible season City have been trying to build on their unexpected success and have invested heavily in the squad, but the recruitment since 2016 has been a bone of contention with many supporters since then.

The following summer the club broke its transfer record three times in a bid to strengthen the squad for the Champions League campaign, but there were more misses than hits.

2016-17

Leicester City's Islam Slimani (Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

City spent over £82 million during the 2016-17 season with four deals that eclipsed the club record fee paid for Leonardo Ulloa following promotion to the Premier League.

First Papy Mendy was signed for £14 million from Nice, then striker Ahmed Musa from CSKA Moscow for £17.55 million before City landed Islam Slimani for a club record of £27.45 from Sporting Lisbon.

The following January they signed Wilfred Ndidi from Genk for £15.84 million, and had already signed winger Bartosz Kaputska for £4.5 million from Cracovia Krakow and goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler for £3.15 million from Hannover. Luis Hernandez also signed for a free from Sporting Gijon for a total of £82.44 million.

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Then manager Claudio Ranieri was trying desperately to fill the vacated boots of Kante, who had joined Chelsea for £32.22 million after a release clause was triggered in his contract. It was a huge blow for City and no player would be given a release clause again.

Also leaving were Jeff Schlupp to Crystal Palace (£12.42 million), Andrej Kramaric to Hoffenheim (£9.9 million), Ritchie De Laet to Aston Villa (£2 million) and Hernandez’s stay was brief as he returned to Spain in a £1.8 million deal to Malaga.

Academy graduate Liam Moore also joined Reading in a £1 million deal as City recouped £59.45 million for a net spend of £23 million.

Verdict

Overall, considering the impact comparative to their fees of so many of the big signings that season, only Ndidi, a two-time young player of the year, can be considered anything close to a success.

Injury curtailed the first two seasons for Mendy and only now has he become a consistent performer for City, while record signing Slimani and Musa have been huge disappointments considering the outlay on them both.

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This transfer season remains, without doubt, the biggest disappointment to City fans as they hoped City would build from the foundation of the title win and prepare for a long-term challenge for continued European qualification.

2017/18

Adrien Silva against Huddersfield (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

City had an even bigger net spend the following year. Once again they lost a key member of the title-winners when Danny Drinkwater joined Kante at Chelsea in a £35 million deal.

Promising forward Tom Lawrence left in a £5 million deal to Derby County, while Zieler returned to Germany to join Stuttgart for £3.6 million.

Kapustka, another flop from the previous season, was sent out on loan to Freiburg with a loan fee of £450,000. Musa and Slimani would also head out on loan during the campaign after making little impact. City recouped £43.11 million in total.

There was more big spending during the summer as City landed young striker Kelechi Iheanacho from Manchester City for £25 million. Adrien Silva created the biggest headlines of the summer as his £22 million arrival from Sporting on transfer deadline day resulted in his registration being withheld until January after administration issues.

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Vicente Iborra joined from Sevilla for £13.5 million and City pulled off what is now seen as a real coup to land Harry Maguire for £12.3 million from Hull City.

Also coming in were Aleksandar Dragovic (a £2.25 million loan fee to Bayer Leverkusen), Eldin Jakupovic from Hull (£2 million) and Fousseni Diabate in January for £1.8 million for a combined outlay of £79.06 million, a net spend of £35.95 million, nearly £13 million more than the previous season. To put it another way, a Maguire more.

Maguire has been a huge hit and his transfer fee looks a real bargain compared to what he has achieved now and what his going rate would be if City sold.

Dragovic was a hit with the fans when he eventually did get a run in the team but both City and the player were reluctant to make the move permanent.

Iborra made some solid contributions at times but wasn’t a consistent starter, much to his own frustration.

However, after some promising moments early on, Iheanacho has started to move backwards in his career. A lack of confidence seems to be his biggest problem. Renowned as one of the best finishers on the training ground, he needs help to get back on track and is still young enough to fulfil his potential.

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The move for Silva has so far become a nightmare. The long delay in his debut didn’t help and since then a lack of consistent games under Claude Puel and the manager’s chosen system has hampered Silva, who having signed for Craig Shakespeare doesn’t look to fit in under Puel, but he is now proving on loan at Monaco that he is a good player.

Diabate likewise. After a bright start he hasn’t shone much but is doing so at Sivasspor in Turkey on loan.

2018/19

James Maddison has been Leicester City's creative spark in pre-season so far (Image: Plumb Images/Getty Images)

This is City’s biggest spending season yet with an estimated £103.14 million being spent, but with a net spend of just £16.92 million.

James Maddison was the biggest summer signing as City paid Norwich City £22.5 million for his services. Ricardo Pereira arrived to bolster the right-back berth in a £19.8 million from Porto, while young centre backs Caglar Soyuncu arrived from Freiburg for £19 million and Filip Benkovic from Dinamo Zagreb for £13 million.

Goalkeeper Danny Ward joined from Liverpool in a £12.6 million deal, the same estimated fee as was paid by City to Monaco for winger Rachid Ghezzal.

Long-term target Jonny Evans also joined in a cut-price £3.6 million deal from relegated West Bromwich Albion.

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In January, City also brought in Youri Tielemans in a swap deal with Monaco involving Silva.

The inevitable but sad departure of Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City for a club record £61.02 million left a creative hole in the City squad that has proven tough to fill.

Musa’s performances in the World Cup in Russia sparked interest abroad and he joined Al-Nassr of the Saudi league in a £14.8 million deal.

Iborra returned to Spain to Villarreal for £9 million while Slimani went out on loan again to Fenerbahce with a £1.35 million loan fee paid.

Yohan Benalouane also left to join Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee.

Verdict

The jury is still very much out on many of the signings will need time to settle. Soyuncu has played a handful of games but his time will come, while Benkovic has impressed on loan at Celtic.

Ward has done superbly in the cup competitions, but can’t break past Kasper Schmeichel for the number one spot in the Premier League, while at £3.6 million Evans has started to show he will be a bargain buy with his recent displays alongside Maguire.

Rachid Ghezzal has produced a mixed bag so far. At times he looks a good player and at other times the pace of the Premier League looks too big a step up for him. He will need more time.

However, Maddison has made an impact and certainly at the start of the season he looked a real gem. His displays earned him a call up to the senior England squad and he will be an asset for City for the future.

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In contrast, Pereira had a slow start as the intensity of the English came seemed to catch him out. He had a shocking game at Bournemouth early in the season but has certainly learned quickly since. His displays around Christmas were arguably the best of any City player and he has now settled into the attacking right-back role he was recruited for.

Tielemans also made an impressive debut at Tottenham Hotspur.

It is still early days but there is more reasons for optimism that this crop of signings will prove to be big hits for City.